Legal Ethics Roundup: FBI Arrests Judge – AG Hints at More, Prosecutors Resign, Trump Org Fires Ethics Atty & More

Ed. note: Please welcome Renee Knake Jefferson back to the pages of Above the Law. Subscribe to her Substack, Legal Ethics Roundup, here.

Welcome to what captivates, haunts, inspires, and surprises me every week in the world of legal ethics.

Happy Monday! Hope you are enjoying the longer days of sunshine as summer approaches. I’ve already started working on the LER Second Annual Legal Ethics Summer Reading List. You’ll find a preview below. But first, let’s turn to the headlines.

Highlights from Last Week – Top Fifteen Headlines

#1 Judge Arrested by FBI; AG “Hints” at More. Three headlines for #1. First, from the AP: “The FBI on Friday arrested a Milwaukee judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities, escalating a clash between the Trump administration and local authorities over the Republican president’s sweeping immigration crackdown. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan is accused of escorting the man and his lawyer out of her courtroom through the jury door last week after learning that immigration authorities were seeking his arrest. The man was taken into custody outside the courthouse after agents chased him on foot.” Read more here. Second, from the HuffPost: “Attorney General Pam Bondi hinted at hunting down more judges hours after a Wisconsin judge was arrested for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest.” Read more here. Third, from National Public Radio, quoting Wisconsin Democratic state lawmaker Ryan Clancy: “This is incredibly unprecedented. A functioning democracy does not arrest sitting judges for doing their job.” Listen here.

#2 “Solicitor General John Sauer’s Predicament.” From Jack Goldsmith (Harvard) at Executive Functions: “The SG’s Office has a special relationship to the Court, including special obligations and practices, that are part of the culture of the office and are the sources of its extraordinary influence. No SG should want to depart from these customs or give up this influence. This essay is about why the SG’s traditional role is under unprecedented pressure in Trump 2.0. We are about to find out whether the new SG—John Sauer—can maintain the SG’s traditional stance toward the Court while catering to the wishes of the president and the White House.” Read more here.

#3 “Angst Builds Inside Federal Agency Over Trump’s Moves Against Law Firms.” From the New York Times: “The primary federal regulator of workplace discrimination has become a powerful tool in President Trump’s assault on some of the nation’s biggest law firms and is upending the agency’s traditional role in enforcing civil rights laws and upsetting its staff.” Read more here.

#4 AI Strikes Again – Fake Bar Exam Questions and Fake Case Citations. Two headlines for #4:.First, from The Guardian: “The State Bar of California has disclosed that some multiple-choice questions in a problem-plagued bar exam were developed with the aid of artificial intelligence. The legal licensing body said in a news release on Monday that it will ask the California supreme court to adjust test scores for those who took its February bar exam. ‘The debacle that was the February 2025 bar exam is worse than we imagined,’ Mary Basick, assistant dean of academic skills at the University of California, Irvine, School of Law, told the Los Angeles Times. ‘I’m almost speechless. Having the questions drafted by non-lawyers using artificial intelligence is just unbelievable.’” Read more here. Second, from KDVR Denver: “MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and his legal team have to explain themselves to a federal judge in Colorado after she discovered a recent brief they submitted pointed to fake court cases as evidence. The brief was submitted as part of an ongoing defamation case involving a former executive at Dominion Voting Systems that was filed against Lindell in 2022. According to court documents, federal judge Nina Wang found about 30 defective citations in a brief Lindell’s legal team filed in February. The defects range from misquotes to ‘citations of cases that do not exist.’” Read more here.

#5 “Trump Executive Order Says ABA’s Role as Law School Accreditor May Be Revoked.” From Reuters: “The Trump Administration said in an executive order on Wednesday that it is considering revoking the American Bar Association’s status as the federally recognized accreditor of law schools, a change that could impact lawyer licensing, student loans and attorney mobility, legal education experts said.” Read more here. Read the full EO here.

#6 “3 More Prosecutors Resign Over Eric Adams Corruption Case.” From The Hill: “Three additional federal prosecutors have resigned from the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York in the aftermath of the Department of Justice (DOJ) dropping its case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D). Celia Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach and Derek Wikstrom sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday accusing the DOJ of requiring them to “express regret and admit some wrongdoing” in refusing to move to drop the case in exchange for being restored from administrative leave, multiple outlets reported.The three prosecutors wrote they have served under presidents of both parties and have advanced their priorities while pursuing justice. They said prosecutors don’t set policy but must follow the Constitution and the country’s laws, benefiting the public in giving it faith in the justice system, the department in having credibility and the prosecutors in being able to ‘ethically carry out their duties.’ ‘Now, the Department has decided that obedience supersedes all else, requiring us to abdicate our legal and ethical obligations in favor of directions from Washington,’ they said. ‘That is wrong.’” Read more here.

#7 “Judges Appear Receptive to Blocking Trump’s Orders Targeting Big Law Firms.” From the New York Times: “Two federal judges on Wednesday appeared sympathetic to arguments from elite law firms asking for definitive relief from President Trump’s executive orders targeting them. Lawyers for two firms, Perkins Coie and WilmerHale, have asked the courts to permanently block the Trump administration from carrying out the orders, arguing that the measures are so blatantly unconstitutional that no trial is necessary. The orders, they stressed, pose a critical threat to their businesses and the legal profession writ large. The firms have clients and have employed lawyers Mr. Trump opposes politically. The judges presiding over their cases, Beryl A. Howell and Richard J. Leon of the Federal District Court in Washington, said they would take some time to reach a final decision. But both appeared receptive to the firms’ position that Mr. Trump was retaliating against them for speech he does not like.” Read more here (gift link).

#8 “Trump Organization Fires Its Ethics Attorney — After Harvard Hired Him To Help With Lawsuit.” From Forbes: “The Trump Organization fired its ethics attorney William Burck on Thursday for representing Harvard University in its lawsuit against the government, CNN reports, after President Donald Trump suggested it on Truth Social, raising questions about the president’s independence from his business empire—which is exactly what Burck’s appointment was supposed to avoid.” Read more here.

#9 “Maine Lawyer Tries to Get Federal Government Lawyer Investigated for Litigating Government’s Claim Related to Transgender Athletes.” From The Volokh Conspiracy: “A federal judge has denied a motion from a Maine lawyer asking for a special counsel to investigate the attorney representing the federal government in its Title IX lawsuit against the Maine Department Education.” Read more here.

#10 “Democrats Demand Law Firms Turn Over Details on Deals With Trump.” From the Newsweek: “More than a dozen Democratic members of Congress have sent letters to nine major law firms who struck deals with the Trump administration, demanding further details on their agreements. The lawmakers want more answers, as they say the deals, ‘pose a serious threat to the integrity and independence of our judicial system and the administration of justice,’ according to a statement from the office of Democratic U.S. Representative April McClain Delaney of Maryland.” Read more here.

#11 “Many Big Law Firms Shun Conservative Clients.” From John Greil (Texas) in the Wall Street Journal: “More than 500 law firms recently signed a court brief denouncing President Trump’s executive orders targeting Perkins Coie and other firms for representing causes that Mr. Trump opposes. The brief invokes the Supreme Court’s admirable maxim: ‘The courage of attorneys who take on unpopular clients has long made lawyerdom proud.’ But that courage often goes only in one direction. For years, some of America’s biggest law firms have been unwilling to represent conservative clients whose beliefs run against the elite liberal consensus. This imbalance hurts reputations—and compromises the rule of law. … Universities serve as helpful examples for what law firms should and shouldn’t do. Public trust in higher education has plunged—from 57% to 36% since 2015—largely due to perceived political bias. Some schools have responded prudently by adopting institutional neutrality. While individual professors and students may speak freely, university administrations don’t take sides on controversial social and political issues that are unrelated to their core mission. The policy keeps the institution above the fray. Law firms should do the same. Let lawyers take the cases they believe in—without the firm itself taking sides. The legal profession rightly honors those who represent unpopular clients. This should include clients from across the political spectrum. It’s time for America’s biggest law firms to make lawyerdom proud again.” Read more here (gift link).

#12 Reasonable Fees – “Is The ‘Prevailing Party’ Over For Civil Rights Attys?” From Law360: “The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that preliminary injunctions don’t entitle civil rights plaintiffs to recoup attorney fees was partly an attempt to reduce lengthy fee litigation, but it may have also reduced litigants’ ability to vindicate their rights in court.” Read more here.

#13 “The Untold Story of How Ed Martin Ghostwrote Online Attacks Against a Judge — and Still Became a Top Trump Prosecutor.” From ProPublica: “Legal experts told ProPublica that Martin’s conduct in the Eagle Forum case was a clear violation of ethical norms and professional rules. Martin’s behavior, they said, was especially egregious because he was both a defendant in the case and a licensed attorney. Martin appeared to be ‘deliberately interfering with a judicial proceeding with the intent to undermine the integrity of the outcome,’ said Scott Cummings, a professor of legal ethics at UCLA School of Law. ‘That’s not OK.’ Martin did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Martin’s legal and political career is dotted with questions about his professional and ethical conduct. But for all his years in the spotlight, some of the most serious concerns about his conduct have remained in the shadows — buried in court filings, overlooked by the press or never reported at all.” Read more here

#14 “Colorado Ethics Panel: Judge Cannot Drive Car Advertising Wife’s Law Firm, May ‘Occasionally’ Ride In It.” From Colorado Politics: “A judge whose wife works at a law firm may not drive a car that has the firm’s logo affixed to the side, nor may he park the vehicle in front of his home, the state’s judicial ethics panel advised last week. The judge may, however, ride as a passenger ‘occasionally,’ the panel added. The Colorado Judicial Ethics Advisory Board, which consists of judges, lawyers and a non-attorney, cited multiple reasons why the judge’s affiliation with the promotional vehicle would be problematic, including the perception that the specific law firm is in a position to influence the judge.” Read more here

#15 International Perspectives – “Criminalizing the Legal Profession.” From Verfassungsblog: “Lawyers and bar associations in Turkey have long faced political and legal pressure. The court case against the Istanbul Bar Association that led to the dismissal of its executive board and the criminal prosecution of board members is another troubling instance of such pressure. While the case may seem as an isolated legal dispute, it reflects a broader effort by the Turkish government to silence dissenting voices, dismantle the rule of law, and target institutions that remain committed to defending democratic values. The case exemplifies how authoritarian regimes increasingly criminalise lawyers and professional organisations that speak out against rights violations. By situating the case within both national and international trends of authoritarianism, we aim to underscore the vital role of lawyers and bar associations in defending human rights, access to justice, and democratic principles—often at great personal and institutional risk” Read more here.

Summer Reading List Preview

At the end of May, I’ll bring you the LER Second Annual Legal Ethics Summer Reading List. As you might recall from last year’s list, this isn’t just limited to law-related books! This week I’m sharing a sneak preview of the list, which will feature The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life by Suleika Jaouad along with more than a dozen other recommendations. The Book of Alchemy hit the shelves last week on April 22, which happens to also be the birthday of my labradoodle, Rilke. I loved opening the *gorgeous* cover to discover on the first page the very quote that inspired my dog’s name. Happy fifth birthday to Rilke and happy book launch to Suleika!

Do you have suggestions for summer reading? Send them my way — see below under “Keep in Touch.”

Where’s the Rest of the Roundup?

Revisit the “Welcome Back Edition” for an explanation of the new format. And keep an eye out for next month’s “First Monday Edition” with reading recommendations, analysis, reforms watch, jobs, events, and much more.

Looking for the Legal Ethics & Democracy Tracker?

You’ll find it here. New additions this week include the Amicus Brief from 775 Law Professors on Behalf of Susman Godfrey.

Get Hired

Did you miss the 100+ job postings from previous weeks? Find them all here.

Upcoming Ethics Events & Other Announcements

Did you miss an announcement from previous weeks? Find them all here.

Keep in Touch

• News tips? Announcements? Events? A job to post? Reading recommendations? Email legalethics@substack.com – but be sure to subscribe first, otherwise the email won’t be delivered.
• Teaching Professional Responsibility or Legal Ethics? Check out the companion page for my casebook Professional Responsibility: A Contemporary Approach for teaching resources.

Renee Knake Jefferson holds the endowed Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics and is a Professor of Law at the University of Houston. Check out more of her writing at the Legal Ethics Roundup. Find her on X (formerly Twitter) at @reneeknake or Bluesky at legalethics.bsky.social. 

The post Legal Ethics Roundup: FBI Arrests Judge – AG Hints at More, Prosecutors Resign, Trump Org Fires Ethics Atty & More appeared first on Above the Law.